Suspect arrested in Dec. 2nd gunfire incident near 17th St. and Delaware

A 22-year-old Santa Monica man has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly fired at a vehicle in an alley near 17th Street and Delaware Avenue in Santa Monica early this month, police said.

Santa Monica police detectives arrested Gil Salazar Verastegui Thursday, December 14th, for his alleged involvement in the shooting incident, which occurred in the 1900 block of Alley 17, near Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica, December 2nd, according to Santa Monica police Lt. Alex Padilla.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has charged Verastegui with one count of discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, a District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman said.

Verastegui was arraigned at the Superior Court Airport Courthouse Monday, December 18th. He is currently being held at the men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles without bail.

A preliminary hearing for Verastegui is scheduled Monday, January 8th, at the Airport Courthouse, the district attorney spokeswoman said.

Padilla said Santa Monica police were able to identify Verastegui through a follow-up investigation and by talking to witnesses. Officers arrested him after they saw him walking on a street in Santa Monica, Padilla said.

Police alleged that Verastegui had gotten out of his vehicle in the alley, shot at another vehicle, in which there were a female driver and two other passengers, and then fled in his vehicle.